Former Texas deputy acquitted of murder sues county

BASTROP, Texas (AP) - A former central Texas sheriff's deputy found not guilty on murder charges in the shooting death of an unarmed woman, has filed a lawsuit against Bastrop County alleging he was improperly trained.

Former Bastrop County Deputy Daniel Willis filed the lawsuit against the county Thursday, almost two years after he was acquitted in the February 2014 fatal shooting of Yvette Smith. Willis shot Smith after responding to a domestic disturbance call.

Willis said at his trial that a dispatcher had failed to relay there was no longer a threat after a previous call of a firearm being present was sent to officers. The former dispatcher who was on duty is also named in the lawsuit.

Willis says he has been unable to work in law enforcement since the charges.

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